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General aviation engineering support and reverse engineering, by the hour.

One-on-one time with an aerospace engineer and flight test professional who owns and maintains old airplanes himself. Dedicated reverse engineering projects and general aviation engineering support — separate from, and not included with, our 3D scanning services.

What an hour covers.

  • A full reverse engineering project: from a worn part or a raw scan to a manufacturable drawing
  • General aviation engineering support: structural reviews, material substitutions, load paths, and tolerancing
  • Cleaning up an STL scan in SolidWorks, Fusion 360, FreeCAD, or Blender until it's editable CAD
  • Preparing files for 3D printing, laser cutting, or CNC, with the right tolerances for each
  • A design review before you commit to fabrication
  • Material and process choices for interior, cosmetic, and non-structural parts
  • Understanding the owner-produced parts pathway and what your IA will want to see on paper
  • Planning a scan session so you capture the datums an engineer will actually need

Sessions are video calls with screen share. You'll get the notes, any sketches, and the files we touched the same day. This time is separate from, and not included with, scanner rentals or mail-in scanning.

Consultation.

$175for the first hour, then $125 for each additional hour.

Booked in one-hour blocks with Jawanza Bassue, aerospace engineer and flight test professional. Bring the part, the scan, or just the problem. Invoiced after the session. Reschedule up to 24 hours ahead at no charge.

Jawanza is not a DER, so consultations cover engineering guidance only. Nothing from a session is approved data or approval from the FAA, EASA, TCCA, or any other authority. We're in early talks with an ODA and several machine shops to help carry projects through approval and fabrication.

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Reverse engineering, done for you.

Scanning gets you an STL. Turning that mesh into editable CAD is a separate job, and one we can take on for you. Email us about the part and we'll explain what the rebuild involves and what it costs on top of the scan.

  1. Scan.

    On our bench for mail-ins, with shipping both ways paid by you, or on site for parts that can't come off the airplane. Multiple passes, aligned and merged.

  2. Merge.

    Passes aligned and merged into one mesh. Stray geometry and obvious noise removed.

  3. Check.

    Overall dimensions compared to the original part by hand, so you know the STL is to scale before you start modeling.

  4. Deliver.

    One STL file per part, with notes on the areas that need attention in CAD. Rebuild it yourself in SolidWorks, Fusion 360, FreeCAD, or Blender, or hand it back to us and we will quote the modeling. The scan also joins the repository.

Contact us Reverse engineering is an add-on, quoted per part on top of the scanning fee. Every scan becomes Open Source GA property.

Recent projects.

From a whole cabin wall down to a single trim piece. Every project starts with a scan like these, then ends as a sheet-metal skin, a machined bracket, a laser-cut panel, or a printed part.

Full-color 3D scan of the inside left cabin wall of a Beechcraft Bonanza P35, showing the frames, stringers, insulation and wiring runs
Left cabin wall, insideBeechcraft Bonanza P35. Scanned in place in full color, with the frames, stringers, insulation and wire runs captured in nearly 1.9 million triangles.
3D scan of a Beechcraft Bonanza V35 nose bowl with its round opening and rectangular cutout
Nose bowlBeechcraft Bonanza V35. Compound curves, the rolled lip, and both openings captured in one piece.
3D scan of a Beechcraft Bonanza aileron rib showing rivets, the stiffening bead and hole pattern
Aileron ribBeechcraft Bonanza. Rivet locations, the stiffening bead, and the hole pattern recorded from the original.
3D scan of a flying-V aircraft antenna with its mounting base, screws and connector
Flying-V antennaGeneric GA antenna. Scanned with its mounting screws and connector in place, so the base geometry comes through intact.
3D scan of a Beechcraft Bonanza P35 cabin door frame with a modeled replacement inner panel
Cabin door inner skinBeechcraft Bonanza P35. Door scanned on the airplane, inner panel modeled flat for a new sheet-metal skin.
Rendering of a McCauley propeller governor bracket modeled from a 3D scan
Governor bracketMcCauley. Worn original scanned and rebuilt as a solid model with a drawing for a machined replacement.
3D scan of a Piper Twin Comanche switch panel with a flat panel layout for laser cutting
Right switch panelPiper Twin Comanche. Switch and breaker locations captured from the scan and laid out for a laser-cut panel.
Rendering of a Beechcraft fuel selector trim piece reconstructed from a 3D scan
Fuel selector trimBeechcraft. Cracked plastic trim scanned and remodeled for printing in a UV-stable material.

Who books an hour.

Aircraft owners

You've found the part that's been out of production for thirty years and want to know what your options are, and what your mechanic will need from you.

A&P mechanics

You have an STL, or a customer who needs one, and want help turning it into a drawing you can put in front of a fabricator without a week of back and forth.

Aerospace engineers

You need a reliable STL of the original part for a PMA package, an STC, or a repair design, and would rather not spend the budget on a scanner you'll use once.

Bring the part. We'll bring the plan.

Pick a time on the calendar. If you're not sure an hour is the right format, email first and we'll tell you.

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